


Do You Remember Love?

by Mary_chat



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: - Freeformladychat -, Adrien Agreste / Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Adrien Agreste / Marinette Dupain-ChengPre-Relationship, Adrien Agreste Knows, Adrinette, Chat Noir / Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Developing Relationship, Dorks in Love, F/M, FreeformProtect Adrien Agreste, Freeformladrien, Identity Reveal, Idiots in Love, LadyNoir - Freeform, Love Confessions, Marichat, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Knows, Post-Reveal Love Square, Reveal Identity, post-reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28443897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mary_chat/pseuds/Mary_chat
Summary: At the end of a patrol like the others, Ladybug and Chat Noir find themselves at the top of the Eiffel Tower. But that evening, their conversation could well have consequences for Marinette and Adrien...
Relationships: Adrien Agreste & Chloé Bourgeois, Adrien Agreste / Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Cat Noir / Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug), Chat Noir / Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chloé Bourgeois & Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Comments: 23
Kudos: 78





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a while since night fell when two slim figures landed on the Eiffel Tower, from the roof of a building located not far away. They began to climb it from the outside before slipping between two joists, towards the top. Then they rested there for a moment, catching their breath in this place so calm, in the heart of the capital so noisy and agitated. This place sheltered from the eyes and ears, which both people appreciated for this reason, but also for the panoramic and breathtaking view of Paris that it offered.

"Okay, the patrol is over and it's getting late, we better get back to sleep, Cat Noir," Ladybug observed after a few minutes, breaking the silence of the night.

"Already?" countered this one in a disappointed tone. "It's spring, Buguinette, you have to take advantage of the good weather and the sweetness of the air. And then, soon, the nights will shorten so much that it will be difficult to make our rounds!"

"I have class, tomorrow, and I do not want to be late again..." she indicated, pouting.

" You, my Lady, late? I have difficulty believing it !" he retorted with a burst of laughter, while she pursed her lips to say nothing.

She straightened up and put her hand on the yoyo she wore at her waist.

"Hold on!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Can we just stay a few minutes to chat a little more, please?"

Ladybug turned to her partner and stared at him for a few moments, uncertain. He looked pleading and the cat ears he wore on his head were a little low, as if he was sorry he made fun of her.

"Okay ... okay for ten more minutes. But just to chat, eh? Don't bother trying to make me a charming number, Kitten, okay?"

Chat Noir sat down on the metal floor of the Eiffel Tower and sighed.

"So that's why you always leave quickly at the end of our patrols? Does my presence bother you that much?"

"No, Kitten, you're not bothering me," she replied, sitting down beside him. I really like you, you know that, and I appreciate our patrols.

"Yeah. Frankly, sometimes I have doubts."

"You know, you are the best partner there is. I have complete confidence in you. And I really do consider you a friend. You are someone very important to me."

"But?" he tried, raising an eyebrow, looking for what was wrong.

"But ... she began in a hesitant voice. Kitten, I really love you very much ... but ... but I am not able to return your feelings to you ..."

"I know ... he replied with a resigned sigh, his heart heavy. I have noticed. It's because of this boy, isn't it?"

She nodded, looking embarrassed.

"I hope he makes you happy, at least."

She shrugged her shoulders slightly. What to answer to that? Her relationship with Adrien ... was it just a relationship, he intimidated her so much?

"Without wanting to hurt you, my Lady, if he hasn't noticed you, he's probably a fool. He doesn't know how lucky he is ..." Cat Noir sighed.

The two heroes were silent for a few moments, before the boy resumed.

"Tell me about him."

"Huh?" she rebelled. "name?"

"No, but ... " he went on, biting his lip. "I'm not asking for his name, description or that sort of thing, eh. I suspect you wouldn't give them to me anyway," he finished with a grimace that seemed to want to be a smile.

"But why ... why do you want ... me to tell you about him?"

"Well ... I may be wrong but ... maybe ... maybe that, if it seemed more concrete to me ... maybe I would be able to turn the page."

"Oh ..." she answered thoughtfully, starting to think. "Yes but ... what could I tell you without revealing anything about his identity or mine?"

"Uh ..."

"What if ... what if you told me ... how you ... fell in love with him?"

"Oh ..."

"See, that's concrete, that should help me to really realize that I don't stand a chance with you. And, at the same time, I don't think that can give me any information about him or about you, does it?"

"No, it shouldn't ..." she replied thoughtfully.

She thought for a few moments, then stared at him with a sigh.

" Are you really sure you want me to tell you about it, Kitten?"

"I'm listening, my Lady," he replied in a tone that wanted to be firm.

"Good ... she began, still hesitating. So ... I fell in love with him because of some chewing gum and an umbrella."

Huh? he wondered, opening his eyes wide.

She burst into a nervous laugh.

"Sounds crazy, doesn't it?"

" Uh ... uh ..." Chat Noir hesitated before resuming sufficient composure. It especially looks very weird, said like that. 

"What do you mean, a chewing gum and an umbrella?" he asked, running his hand nervously around the back of his neck.

"The chewing gum was stuck to my place in class and, as I did not know this boy, at first I thought it was him who put it there, so I got mad at him . But, at the end of the day of class, he came to explain to me that in fact, he was innocent and was only trying to get him off the ground. Then he gave me his umbrella because it was raining and I forgot mine. He was so kind ... So helpful ... So lovely ... But since then, I haven't..."

With that, Ladybug buried her face in her hands, her head between her knees. Stunned, Chat Noir barely managed to keep from shouting: "Marinette!".

"That's ridiculous, isn't it?"

"Uh ... No, no, not at all, uh ... My Lady ..."

Cat Noir remained silent, not knowing what to say more, trying to calm his heartbeat. On second thought, did he really understand what Ladybug had just said? He remembered this scene perfectly. From that scene with Marinette. Marinette, his charming classmate, whom he considered to be one of his closest friends.

So like that, Ladybug was Marinette? Marinette was Ladybug? His Lady? The strong-willed and determined young heroine, always ready to take action, so gifted in combat, was also the adorable clumsy, shy but talented college girl that he appreciated so much and ... Wait ... But then, that meant ... She was in love with him? From him, Adrien? His Lady? Really ?

He watched the young girl with even more attention than he had ever done before, his throat tight. And the more he looked at her, the more convinced he was that it was Marinette, which only increased his confusion. It was her under the mask. But also ... it was her he loved. And the more he thought of her, the more he understood how much he loved her, her whole, Marinette and Ladybug, and how much he loved her even more for knowing who she really was.

He suddenly remembered that he had been asked, more than once, if there was something between him and Marinette. And that he had said, each time, that she was only a friend, to him. How blind he had been, how he had deceived himself! He had refused to see that sweet Marinette attracted him ... because of Ladybug ... because of herself ...

But he had to regain control of his emotions, otherwise he risked knocking everything down. No question of rushing her or hurting her! And yet ... she had to understand. He couldn't hide that from her. When he felt he had calmed down enough, he resumed the discussion in a tone that wanted to be casual. He had to be certain, that he lifted the last little doubt that remained to him.

"And that happened a long time ago, like when you went back to sixth grade, since you didn't know him, right?"

"No, it was this year," she replied, lifting her head. "He's new to my class. He's even new to college ... well that, maybe I shouldn't tell you," she added, lowering her head a little.

"My Lady, do you know how many schools there are in Paris?" He retorted with a very mischievous smile, very Cat Noir, to hide his confusion.  
"Certainly!" she recognized, smiling. 

So it remains light as a clue, phew!


	2. Chapter 2

The two super heroes remained silent for a few moments, lost in their respective thoughts.

"By the way ..." replied Chat Noir thoughtfully.

"Since we are in the confidences ... And without wanting to influence you, disturb you or anything, especially, my Lady ..."

"Yes?" she replied, a little suspicious, straightening up slightly.

"I would like ... I would like to tell you ... how I fell in love with you ... I must not have told you already. And I believe it is important."

"Important?" she repeated with the same suspicion.

"Well yes! To turn the page! You know what I mean ?" he tried to explain in a slightly stressed tone.

"Not really, no ..." she sighed. "But go ahead, Cat Noir, I'm listening. After all, like I told you, I trust you."

"Your confidence honors me, my Lady!" he affirmed with conviction while bowing excessively towards her, in a kind of reverence.

"Come on, go ahead, talk!" she insisted, laughing. "I'm sure it was my heroic side that won you over, anyway!"

He stared at her for a few moments with deep tenderness, before speaking again.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be so sure," he began softly. "Do you remember the day we received our miraculous?"

"How could I forget it?" she sighed."

"Do you remember that you didn't want to become Ladybug, and that I had to reassure you?" he continued.

"Yes. I'm really bad, eh?"

"Oh no, don't say that! Don't denigrate yourself, please!" he rebelled.

The young heroine shrugged as she stared at her feet.

"That's exactly what made me fall in love with you," he explained, blushing slightly under his black mask. 

"When I heard you commit to defending Paris, when you doubted yourself so much just before or almost. Frankly, my Lady, it shows a rare strength of soul!"

She stared at him for a few moments, taken aback by his words, not knowing what to say. Especially since he seemed really sincere, which touched her more than she could have admitted.

"Yeah, I'm not sure I have this quality ..." she finally said.

" My Lady, it is not with the super heroine that I fell in love, but with the girl in the mask," he assured with a conviction reinforced by his recent discovery. 

"Because to engage in that way, and not just on that day, but in every fight we've had since, to comfort people like you do after the battle ... you have to be a great girl ."

Cat Noir had never spoken to her like that until that day, and Ladybug felt how serious he was, for once. She looked at him with emotion, deeply touched by his words, before lowering her head with a sigh.

"Frankly, Kitten, you are a good person. You deserve to be happy, you know."

"I would like," he admitted in a tone that wanted to be offhand but seemed a little distraught.

"You deserve to meet someone good," she insisted.

"Well ... maybe there is this girl ..." he indicated immediately, as if he was just waiting for this.

"Yes ?" Ladybug asked with genuine interest, raising her head.

"I must admit that I was thinking a little about her when I spoke of turning the page on you," he explained.

"Oh, that's great! Is it a girl that you like?"

I'm not sure I like her, actually ...

"Ah?"

Cat Noir stared intently at Ladybug for a few moments, thoughtfully. He seemed to be weighing his words.

"Because she doesn't behave with me like the others," he sighed finally.

"That is to say ?" she asked, frowning.

"With the others, she is always at ease. Moreover, she was so convincing that she was elected delegate of our class almost unanimously."

" Ah. And with you ? Don't tell me you're bullying her!" she finished laughing.

"Well ... I don't know if that's it or if it's because she doesn't like being in my presence but, with me, she always seems nervous."

"You use too much of your flirtatious side, perhaps?" Ladybug insinuated with a wink.

"My Lady ... I'm not really a cat-ringer. And even less without my mask, you know."

She looked at him with a doubtful pout, before resuming.

"Okay, let's admit. But you didn't try to get to know her better, to try to understand where the problem came from?"

"Yes. But I didn't succeed without the mask. Suddenly, I sometimes go to see her on her terrace, above Paris, as Chat Noir."

" I dare not even imagine the number of girls that you will see like that!" she remarked, laughing, despite a small pang in her heart that she did not understand.

"You have a very poor opinion of me, my Lady!" he retorted with a hurt expression, his cat ears completely down. "There is only her that I will see like that. Because she is special to me ... I nicknamed her Princess, but you might find that childish ..."

As he said these words, he rested his head between his knees, not looking at Ladybug, who was staring at him open-mouthed and wide-eyed. Heart beating wildly, the young girl began to detail him. He was talking about her, there was no doubt. So was Cat Noir in his class like that? But then ... It was as if, suddenly, many scattered puzzle pieces fell into place in her head to display the most disturbing of images.

"At least when I'm as Chat Noir, I can chat with her. I do not scare her in this form, well I do not have the impression. Not like in college or elsewhere ... Yet we often see each other outside too, her best friend is my best friend's girlfriend ...

The young hero was silent, leaving all the room for the very slight background noise that the traffic of cars, in the distance, let up to them. Long minutes passed like this, none of them daring to speak again.

Breathless, her throat tied, Ladybug looked at Cat Noir as she had never looked at him before. There was no longer any doubt. Cat Noir was Adrien and ... and he knew who she was. He had to understand it, with what she had told him just before ... But how had she managed not to see anything until then? The same green eyes, the same blond hair ... Even if, to his credit, his hairstyle changed when he was transformed.

Suddenly, the young girl felt herself dying of shame inside when she realized that every time she had pushed Cat Noir away ... it was in fact Adrien that she had pushed back! It wasn't possible, had she done that? By all kwamis, Tikki was going to laugh at her, when she told her that! She felt totally lost in her thoughts, in her feelings.

She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time and was very happy that her red mask partially concealed her cheekbones, which she felt hot. She had no idea what to do, what to say. She didn't want to break the silence and, at the same time, every extra second put her on hot coals. When she saw him speak again, she was both relieved and more stressed.

"Say ... my ... my Lady ..." replied Cat Noir hesitantly, "you think that ... if I try to talk to her, to this girl, in college ... tomorrow ... you think that 'she will happen ... that she will manage to speak to me normally, well, without stammering too much?

She swallowed, nervous. So like that, he didn't want to push the discussion further for the moment, as she would have thought? He ... he was suggesting that Adrien get closer to Marinette? Interesting. Terribly stressful but so tempting! So ... Marinette really interested him? Adrien Chat Noir Agreste was interested in Marinette Ladybug Dupain-Cheng? Maybe he thought he would be more likely to please her without the mask ...

Don't panic, especially don't panic. She had to get home first. She might panic in her room, especially not before.

"Uh ... uh ... um ... I don't think you risk anything to try, Kitten," she replied in a particularly soft voice, which she had never heard before.

"I would be very happy!" he assured in a fervent tone while fixing his partner in the eyes, while it blushed more.

A few more minutes passed in silence, a silence both serene and embarrassed.

Well, finally resumed Ladybug in a tone that wanted to be firm, "I really have to come home, Kitten, otherwise I'm going to be late again tomorrow, and I don't think ... that my teacher appreciates."

"You're right, I'll go home too. Good night, my Lady ... see you soon!"

"Good night, Kitten, see you soon!" She replied with a moved smile while grabbing her yoyo, before dashing away from the Eiffel Tower.  
_____________

That evening, Tikki had great difficulty in reassuring her protege. Marinette tended to panic easily, but there, we had to admit that there was plenty! She couldn't get over the fact that she hadn't been able to recognize Adrien before and, even worse, the fact that she had spent months rejecting him! Despite what he had told her, would he really want her? Of her whole?

The next morning, exceptionally, Marinette did not arrive late for class, but only a short time. Her classmates were all already seated inside when she came to the classroom. The young girl hesitated a few moments, her eyes fixed on the door, before placing her hand on the handle. Gathering all her courage, she opened it to enter the room.

Her eyes fell automatically on Adrien and her heart leaped in her chest when she realized he was looking at her. Especially since he was smiling at her! Marinette looked down and hurried back to her seat. She hadn't had time to recover from her emotions yet as Adrien turned to her, still smiling at her.

"Hey Marinette! Uh ... um ... say ... How would you like to come and eat with me this afternoon?"

She began to blush violently. Decidedly, he had wasted no time in implementing his resolution!

" Please !" he added pleadingly, tilting his head to the side and looking at her like Cat Noir had looked at Ladybug the night before at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

A smile was born on the lips of the young girl at this memory. Heart pounding, just before Alya approached her enough to nudge her, she huffed in response:  
"Okay ... with pleasure ... Adrien ..."

She congratulated herself inwardly for not having panicked and not having mixed up her words. Well, she hadn't managed to answer all at once, but there was already some progress. The smile on Adrien's face widened considerably as the two young people continued to stare at each other.

They hadn't noticed the silence that had descended on the classroom, nor the fact that Chloe had approached them and was obviously about to intervene. But it was Madame Bustier's entry into the room that brought them out of their bubble, when she called everyone to order and asked the mayor's daughter to join her place.

Much to Marinette's chagrin, Alya kept trying to communicate with her. But how was she going to be able to explain to him the fact that Adrien had brutally offered this to her? Between Adrien, who turned to her from time to time with a smile, and a far too curious Alya, she was so stressed that she could not follow the course, and was reprimanded by Madame Bustier when she did not know not correctly answer his question.

Marinette was very apprehensive about the mid-morning break. What was she going to say to Alya? Fortunately for her, Adrien immediately led Nino to follow him towards the two young girls. And directly started the discussion on the subject of their upcoming story check. When Chloe strode towards them, he kindly grabbed her by the arm to question her about the part they needed to review. Succeeding in the tour de force of finally scare away from his childhood friend, with a particularly annoyed look on her face that secretly delights Marinette.

The second part of the morning unfolded much the same as the first. Even if, since the break, Marinette was much less stressed and more and more dreamy. The more time passed the more Adrien seemed impatient. He fidgeted in his chair and seemed to refrain from turning to her too often.

Unfortunately for him, their English teacher eventually called him to order, and he turned around blushing. Marinette felt mortified for him. She wanted to put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him ... but it was clearly not indicated. Fortunately, the bell finally rings to announce the lunch break. Adrien, who was obviously just waiting for this, jumped up from his chair and held out his hand to Marinette.

"Let's go ?"

Cheeks flushed, she stared at his hand, visibly reluctant to take it, suddenly intimidated by all the implications of the gesture. Until Alya pushed her from behind, swinging her over to Adrien, who put both hands forward to catch up with her. He took the opportunity to take her arm and lead her out of the classroom.

"Sorry, Princess"... he whispered a few moments later, as they headed for the exit of the college.

"Uh ... of what?"

"It was a bit cavalier, all that ..." he admitted with a small contrite smile while rubbing the back of his neck. "You would surely have preferred that I did otherwise ..."

Marinette stared at him in surprise. Adrien noticed that she was smiling, a smile that was neither shy nor mocking. A smile that pleased him a lot.

"Don't worry, Kitten, it was perfect," she whispered in a soft voice. "Just ... just that I don't know at all what I'm going to say to Alya when she manages to corner me," she finished, wincing.

"Alya? Why ?" he wondered.

"Because she's not going to leave me alone until I explain to her why you suddenly came to invite me this morning."

"Well, why?"

Marinette blushed, not sure what to say.

"Oh ..." realized Adrien, suddenly embarrassed. "She knows that ... She knows ..."

"Yeah. She knows why I stammer in front of you all the time, Adrien. Finally ... why I stammered ..." she finished, blushing slightly.

" I'm glad you're not babbling anymore," he assured her with a broad smile.

She blushed more.

"It's easier to be comfortable with you now ..." she admitted. "But she's going to wonder why you invited me, Kitten."

"Ah ... Well you just have to tell her the truth," he assured in a tone of evidence.

"What?" exclaimed Marinette, taken aback, speechless and wide-eyed.

Adrien chuckled, which made her look at him puzzled.

"Yes, well the truth ... the same as for our many delays and absences," he clarified with a malicious wink. 

The one that protects ... our secret.

"Oh !" she exclaimed before biting her lip. "Yes but, that does not really solve my problem: I tell her what exactly?"

"Easy !" he replied, laughing. "Had Adrien warned Marinette of his intentions in advance?" he asked in an innocent tone, while emphasizing their first names.

The young girl stared at him with a mischievous smile that immediately reminded her of the ones she was doing under her mask when she had figured out how to neutralize an akuma.

"Not in the least," she replied lightly. "So officially, I have no idea what got into you."

"Exactly. And I think, for my part, I would do well to pour myself out a little with Nino. Fortunately, I didn't bathe him too much with my feelings for your alter ego, and he only thinks I'm a fan."

She stared at him, biting her lip, wondering what exactly his words implied, but said nothing because they came near a sandwich shop, in front of which other college students were already lining up. But Marinette suddenly became aware of the fact that Adrien was still holding her arm, and did not seem absolutely determined to let go. Was it voluntary? Her heart began to beat faster.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments!  
> I love you all!  
> ~Mary

While they were in line, the conversation turned to choosing their menus. When they ordered, Adrien insisted on paying for them both. Marinette refused at first, but finally gave in, rolling her eyes when he made one of the questionable puns she was more used to hearing from her alter ego. Those words in Adrien's mouth had thrown her off too much for her to continue arguing.

It is in silence and side by side that they walked towards the nearby park, where they looked for a quiet corner to settle down. For lack of a bench available, they ended up sitting down in the grass, at the foot of a tree. While eating, their eyes kept meeting, which made them both blush, before they refocused for a few moments on their sandwiches.

They never imagined that discovering their real identities would make things so simple and so complicated at the same time. Neither knew how to start the conversation, far too intimidated by the other's presence. After all, Marinette had always been intimidated by Adrien, and Adrien lost all his means in front of Ladybug when he found himself in front of her without his Cat Noir costume.

In the end, it was like they had to build a whole new relationship.

"By the way, you also have a kwami, don't you?" Marinette finally launched without thinking, too focused on the fact that he was her Black Cat, which reassured her. 

"Oh ! I shouldn't…" she interrupted herself, putting her hand in front of her mouth.

"Hey! I don't mind talking to you at all, my Lady!" Adrien assured him immediately, relieved that she offered a subject of conversation, relatively neutral what is more.

"Yes, but ... what if we could be heard?" she asked him in a low voice with a grimace, while casting a wary glance around her.

"Oh" exclaimed the young man in a low voice. "That would be annoying ... Note, apart from you and me, who knows what a kwami is?" he finished with a wink and a mischievous smile.   
"How is your Kwami?"

She stared at him for a few moments, biting her lower lip, torn between caution and curiosity. In the end, the latter was the strongest.

"Good ..." she sighed." So how is yours?"

"Plagg? Physically, nothing very original, he looks like a little black cat. Green-eyed," he clarified as she smiled at the detail." Character level ... Pfff, he is greedy, lazy and rather narcissistic."

At these words, an indignant exclamation arose from Adrien's shirt pocket. Marinette raised her eyes there in surprise, before laughing. The young man stared at her with a pout, before speaking grumpily again.

"And you ?"

"My kwami looks a bit like a big ladybug, it's all red with big black dots," Marinette said, smiling again. "Her name is Tikki and is adorable, a true friend. She has always supported me a lot. Especially at the beginning, when I was in doubt and didn't want to transf- that I didn't want that role. And she devours large amounts of cookies."

"Cookies ? What luck !" exclaimed Adrien, sitting up abruptly. "Plagg only eats cheese, with a preference for Camembert! I have the impression of stinking constantly!" he added indignantly.

At these words, Marinette burst out laughing.

"Really ? I was lucky, then," she remarked mischievously.

"Yeah. You inherited the luck and I the bad luck", he observed in a jaded tone. "fortunately your luck sometimes makes up for my bad luck."

Troubled by the pain she felt in Adrien's words, Marinette did not know what to say to these words, and the silence dragged on for a few moments. They ended up resuming a broken conversation on different subjects, mainly that of their two best friends or that of the college. But that of their feelings was not even touched. The very idea made them both equally uncomfortable.

Admittedly, the girl now knew that he liked her Ladybug side. But did he love, did he love her Marinette side so much? The young man, meanwhile, had discovered with surprise that she liked his side Adrien, and that was what made her so nervous with him without their masks, until then. However, she had always rejected his Cat Noir side, that free part of himself ... Could she love him all?

When it was time to return to class, Adrien was the first to get up and held out his hand to Marinette, who grabbed it after a slight hesitation and blushing slightly. But as soon as they were both standing face to face, they felt embarrassed and immediately parted their hands. There was far too much unspoken between them.

It was much more difficult than they had thought to find the complicity of Ladybug and Cat Noir, forged over time and fights, without their masks and without their superhero suits. As they returned to the college, the young man ended up breaking the new silence that had settled in, while rubbing the back of his neck.

"By the way, tomorrow is Saturday ... How would you like ... uh ... we go to the movies together, Marinette?" he asked hesitantly. "Well, just you and me, eh, not Alya and Nino!" he added hastily.

The dazzling smile he received in return more than rewarded him for his boldness. She wanted to! They fixed a time and place to meet and started talking about movies that they might like. But the closer they got to their class, the less quickly they walked, not wanting to confront their comrades, not already, not when everything was still so blurry between them.

Finally, they joined the room just before their history teacher arrived. The two young people walked to their seats in silence. As Marinette passed Adrien to sit behind him, his Cat Noir side took over. He grabbed her hand impulsively and brought it to his lips to kiss it.

The young girl immediately blushed and stopped, as if frozen, instead of withdrawing her hand abruptly as she had always done until then, under the mask, and as he therefore expected.

"Good luck with checking, Princess!" He whispered to her with a broad incredulous smile, before settling in his place, reluctantly letting go of her hand.

Seeing Alya, Marinette suddenly felt uncomfortable. Her best friend looked very excited and was hopping in place. As she was about to question him, their history teacher handed them the sheets for the check. Marinette did her best to hide her relief. She hoped, above all, that Alya hadn't made the connection with the hand-kisses that Cat Noir used to do to Ladybug!

Throughout the check, Marinette and Adrien struggled to avoid looking too much at each other, so as not to risk being accused of cheating. Alya fidgeted on her bench, terribly frustrated that she couldn't talk to her best friend. Gnawed by jealousy, Chloe stamped her feet and kept throwing murderous looks at the one she considered more than ever to be her worst enemy.

Nino would watch his best friend from time to time quickly, delighted to see his dreamy expression. Alya had instructed him to question him discreetly, but he strongly doubted that he would succeed. As for the other college students, they couldn't help but look from time to time at Adrien and Marinette, curious about the turn of events: were they finally going out together or not, these two?

When the bell rang, at the end of history class, Alya gave a little cry of joy and snatched Marinette's copy from her hands. She grabbed her friend, put their two copies on their teacher's desk and led her out of the classroom, towards the bathroom.

"Hey, Alya, you're abusing!" Marinette protested sharply. "I wasn't even finished!"

"Anyway, we had to return our copies, it sounded!" Alya justified herself in a ruthless tone. "So, that's it, did you finally talk to Adrien about your feelings?" she supposed with a broad smile, visibly excited.

"No!" her best friend exclaimed immediately, turning pale.

"Oh! So, isn't that why he invited you to eat with him today?" Alya wondered, her eyes widening. But ... What ...

"Did you see how it went, all the times I tried?" Marinette slanted, laughing nervously to hide her discomfort.

"Yes, it's true. So you don't know why ..."

"Do you really think Adrien would have warned me in advance?" the latter cut off sarcastically, using the method the young man had recommended earlier.

"No, no, you're right. Oh ! But then ... that means that he realized on his own that he is in love with you, it's even better!" Alya exclaimed happily, clapping her hands. "Did you see how he devours you with his eyes?"

Marinette blushed sharply, both embarrassed by her best friend's claims and by her own lies, even though she knew she had no choice: she had to protect Adrien's dual identity as well as hers.

So like that ... he devoured her with his eyes? It's also true that there had been this hand-kissing but, coming from her Kitten, did that really mean something more than usual?

"So, are you dating now?" Alya continued with a greedy smile.

"N ... No!" Marinette stammered, embarrassed.

"Huh? But what have you been doing all this time?" indignant the young blogger.

"Well ... we ate," explained Marinette, blushing.

"Only? Seriously?" Alya asked in a blase tone.

"We talked, too. Finally a little," Marinette defended herself.

"OK ... I think we haven't arrived ..." Alya sighed with a desperate air, slapping her forehead. As long as he's as shy as you are, you're not going to go out together…"

"Maybe he doesn't want to…" indicated Marinette, uncertain, blushing again.

"Considering his behavior, for example the very romantic hand-kissing he gave you, I think so," assured Alya, convinced. 

"In any case, he had better!" she added with a determined smile.

"Oh stop! Leave him alone, above all, please!" Marinette exclaimed, instinctively defending the one who was both Adrien and her Kitten.

"Okay. Well, as long as he doesn't make you cry, eh."

"I trust him," assured Marinette with a tender smile.

Her best friend opened her mouth to answer, but Marinette didn't let her do it and immediately spoke again on a subject that seemed much less dangerous to her.

"By the way, we were lucky that Chloe didn't follow us! Seeing her face, I really expected her to come and cause us a scandal!"

Alya burst out laughing.

"Oh yes, don't worry, that was what she intended to do! But let's say ... well we didn't really give her the chance!"

"Nino and you?"

"At first, yes, just the two of us. Of course Sabrina tried to stop us, you know her. But I think a lot of people were just waiting for an opportunity to put down the cackle of this Chloe chick ... In the end, almost the whole class took her to the canteen!" Alya explained. "You should have seen her face, it was green with rage!"

"Most of the class?" Marinette laughed at the idea, before putting her hand to her mouth, suddenly horrified.

"Oh la la ... She's going to hate me even more, after all that ..."

"Oh well, for sure if you go out finally, finally! with Adrien, she's not going to like it at all!" Alya recognized, laughing again. "But hey, would you give up on him for that reason?"

"Oh no!" Marinette exclaimed fervently.

Her best friend smiled triumphantly but didn't have time to answer, interrupted by the college bell. The two young girls rushed to their class without waiting. Alya moaned about how little time they had had, and the fact that she wasn't going to be able to take the time to really talk to Nino. Also, entering the classroom, she quickly exchanged a few words with him, before returning to her place with a broad smile on her lips, her eyes passing from Adrien to Marinette and vice versa.

At the end of class, Adrien gave no one time to react and, once again, extended his hand to Marinette to pull her after him. With a wide smile but very slight hesitation, she grabbed his hand and immediately followed him. Like him, she had put everything in her bag before the bell rang. Indeed, a little before, he had looked at her like Cat Noir during their fights and then had begun to put his things away.

Leaving the classroom, Marinette met Chloe's gaze, who was furious all the more as Ivan was talking to her, a hand innocently resting on her shoulder. Her hand firmly in Adrien's, Marinette moved away, exchanging a malicious smile with him. How good it was to share as civilians the same complicity that they had under their masks!

Unfortunately, the gorilla was waiting in the Agreste car in front of the college, and Adrien sighed at the sight, suddenly brought back to reality, deeply disappointed at not being able to spend more time with Marinette.

"Well, I'll have to go," he sighed. Are ... are we on patrol tonight? Shall we meet tomorrow for the cinema?"

"Mmmh ... I'm not sure ..." she hesitated, uncertain whether she was ready to face him again under their superhero costumes and masks. "I think we better get some sleep. After all, the patrols are not really useful for the city ... it's mostly for spending time together and talking ..."

Adrien froze and stared at Marinette, speechless and wide-eyed. Under this gaze, the young girl began to blush, realizing that she had said too much. He blinked and asked in an urgent voice, but almost whispering so as not to risk being overheard by someone else:  
"Wait ... you mean Ladybug was doing this on purpose to spend time. with Chat Noir?"

She suddenly had a mischievous look so typical of his alter ego in red and black that he felt dizzy.

"Just because Chat Noir's humor sometimes leaves something to be desired doesn't mean Ladybug doesn't appreciate spending time with her partner ..." she replied in a voice as low as him.

Faced with the dazzling smile that Adrien gave Marinette, the young girl's heart skipped a beat.

"We can talk tomorrow, at the movies, if that's okay with you ..." she resumed in an almost normal voice.

"Uh yes, yes, of course! Rest well, Princess!" he hastened to answer." I hope the Butterfly leaves us alone," he added in a low voice.

She nodded silently, not knowing what to say more. A little embarrassed, they awkwardly said goodbye and parted their hands to go their separate ways. Marinette went straight home. She didn't realize that her parents easily noticed her dreamy expression and that they exchanged knowing looks.

When Alya called her that night, she couldn't escape further questions. Fortunately, she quickly found a way to prevent them from getting too close to the secret she shared with Adrien. Indeed, as soon as Marinette indicated to her best friend that the young man had invited her to the cinema, Alya jumped for joy and gave her many tips to make this outing go as well as possible .


	4. Chapter 4

As they had expected, Marinette and Adrien met the next afternoon in a park near the cinema. They were smiling broadly as they arrived but both felt embarrassed the moment they were in front of each other, unsure of how to react. They had never kissed before, and the idea intimidated them too much. Take each other's hand? They both wanted it very much but didn't dare.

They greeted each other, trying to overcome their embarrassment as best they could, and almost immediately went to the cinema to choose the film they were going to watch. The ride was quick, but they weren't sure how to furnish it. They finally stuck to trivialities about the lessons and their friends. Subjects without risk.

They suddenly became much more talkative when they arrived in front of the list of films, naturally finding the ease they had to discuss and debate during their patrols, or when Chat Noir came to visit Marinette on her balcony. After having discussed at length the various films present on the bill, they ended up agreeing on one of them.

As the film was due to start half an hour later, they had time to grab their tickets and get settled in, without hurrying. The two young people took their places in the queue, continuing to discuss cinema since it was a field where they were both comfortable. Unfortunately, before arriving at the checkout, they were interrupted by the sound of an explosion coming from outside, quickly followed by many screams.

Immediately there was a crowd. Several people came out of the cinema, a few to see what was going on while most, frightened, fled screaming. Others, more numerous, sought to hide in the cinema.

The two young people at first froze. They knew perfectly well what that meant: Ladybug and Cat Noir were going to have work! But first they had to hide in order to transform. Their eyes met, panicked at first, and the same smile of relief was born on their lips. For once, no need to invent an excuse! Adrien grabbed Marinette's hand and led her to a dark corner further into the cinema.

They quickly discovered a door that led to the room dedicated to the storage of technical items, especially for cleaning, and immediately rushed into it, without even taking the time to turn on the light. Adrien pushed a rather heavy crate, which he had spotted on entering, in front of the door to block it and turned to Marinette. In the same movement, they asked their kwamis to transform them.

Face to face, they guessed through the darkness their respective transformations and both felt strangely moved. But no question of taking the time to linger, Paris needed them! Ladybug noticed that the room had a window with some light coming in and pointed it out to her partner. They walked through it, blocking it slightly so that it didn't close completely, so that they could return to the cinema the same way.

They set off in pursuit of the new akumatized, she using her yo-yo, he using his telescopic pole. The two super heroes landed on a roof near the places ravaged by the butterfly victim. Cat Noir grabbed Ladybug's hand to kiss it. She immediately withdrew her hand, the same way she always did. Taken aback, he stared at her and she noticed that he seemed deeply hurt by her gesture.

"Kitten, it's not against you!" she justified herself immediately with remorse, her heart pounding wildly.

  
"What do you mean ?" he asked, frowning, unsettled by her gesture and her response.

  
"I didn't want to take my hand away ..." she sighed. "But if Al ... if my best friend notices a connection between Chat Noir and Ladybug at the exact same time as a connection between ... between two of her friends, you don't think she is likely to draw certain conclusions?" she explained in a sorry tone.

  
"Oh !" he exclaimed in dismay, suddenly realizing the implications his gesture might have had. "So I would have done better not to do that hand kiss?"

  
"If, on the contrary, you did well," she reassured him warmly, placing her hand on her partner's shoulder. "You acted exactly as usual. And I had to do the same."

  
"Did you think about it before?" he presumed, feeling silly that he hadn't thought about it himself.

  
"No, only when you did. I realized she could see us, and that was dangerous."

  
"Definitely, my Lady, as always, you are the most intelligent of the two of us."

"Stop, Kitten, you are far from being stupid!" She assured him with a tender smile while placing her index finger on the superhero's nose. "Well, we have an akumatized to stop! Have you seen this damage?"

  
" Yes !" Cat Noir replied with a concentrated air. "Count on me to protect you, even more than before if possible!"

  
"Be careful, Kitten, please!" she cried with a worried look. "We have to beat him, but I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

After giving Ladybug a tender look, the superhero held out his staff to jump to the next roof to go and fight the Butterfly's new victim.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

The miraculous of the two superheroes had already sounded three times when they passed the window of the cinema service room. To their relief, the crate was still pushed to the door. Cat Noir closed the window behind them and approached Ladybug.

"It's a shame, we missed our movie," she sighed in a frustrated tone. "Do you remember what time is next?"

  
"No, but I don't think that's the most important thing," he assured in a slightly strained voice. "Marinette ... My Lady ... do you mind if we take the opportunity to talk a little?"

  
" Uh ... here? Now ?" she replied in a nervous voice, unsure of what he wanted to talk about, and above all fearful that he would tell her that there could never be anything more between them than their partnership against evil.

  
"Yes. Seems perfect to me. Here no one should hear us or disturb us. And given the half-light, we don't really see each other, so we might be more comfortable taking stock, me talking to both Marinette and Ladybug, you talking to both Adrien and Chat Noir ," he explained.

  
"Oh !" she exclaimed suddenly panicking, fearing to see her fears come true.

  
"That way, we might be able to think about blunders to avoid, like the one we almost made earlier," he said in a sorry voice.

  
"Yes, you are probably right ... " she sighed finally, sitting down on the floor, her back resting against the crate blocking the door, realizing that they indeed really needed this update, and that

Cat Noir sat down against her, shoulder to shoulder and, to her delight, she did not push him away, although, as he immediately noticed, she had initially jumped at his touch. But very quickly, she relaxed and leaned against him.

"So, Kitten, what do you want to talk about?" she began nervously, still unsure of how things would turn out.

The young man let a silence pass, visibly searching for his words, well aware of his partner's nervousness and fearing to scare her away.

" I feel so stupid ..." he sighed finally.

  
"What do you mean ?" she wondered.

  
"Frankly, do you realize? I knew you from the start under your two identities ... and I was never able to make the connection."

  
"So I'm as stupid as you! she assured with conviction, determined not to let him denigrate himself. Besides ... I would never have rejected you if ... if I had not met Adrien ... and even less if I had guessed that he was hiding behind Cat Noir ..." she finished at half-voice.

  
"It is true ?" he exclaimed in an incredulous voice.

She nodded, blushing, and despite the darkness, he knew she was confirming his words. Filled with intense joy, guided by his instinct, he thoughtlessly grabbed the hand of the young girl to bring it to his mouth and kiss it with great tenderness, almost devotion. Noticing, in passing, that their superhero outfits had both vanished, and not even having a thought for their kwamis.

Troubled by his gesture, she held her breath and, when he descended to the ground their tangled hands, gently squeezing his, she squeezed his hand back. They remained silent, overcome by emotion, hearts pounding wildly.

"Still, if that can console you, it is not only us who have been blind," she resumed in a soft voice after a long time, to try to regain composure and restart the conversation. .

  
"That is to say ?" he wondered.

  
"Do you realize that Alya, the creator of Ladyblog, the specialist in everything that concerns us, sees us almost every day in class, and that she is always looking for who is hiding behind the mask? she explained, laughing. She never realized she was Ladybug's best friend!"

He burst out laughing at first, before retorting, frowning, suddenly worried:  
"Are you sure she doesn't suspect anything, Marinette?"

  
"Don't worry, Kitten. I know her well, if that was the case ... believe me, she certainly wouldn't have left us alone with this. She would necessarily have made sure to make it clear to us. Probably asked for information, interviews, that sort of thing. No, if she had discovered something, I would know. And then ... I always took great care to remove her suspicions from me. Now I will make sure to keep them away from you too, don't worry."

  
"I trust you, my Lady," he assured, squeezing her hand a little harder in hers. But suddenly ... "no tender gestures in public ..." he sighed.

  
"No tender gestures in public like Cat Noir and Ladybug," she clarified in a firm voice. At least for now. I really don't want to draw his suspicions on us.

The young man nodded, before speaking again.

"So ... we agree that ... does that mean that you agree when we are as Marinette and Adrien?" he asked with a hopeful voice.

"Well uh ... yes ... well if you agree too, of course ..." she answered in a troubled voice.

  
"Of course I agree!" he asserted with conviction." I've told you more than once that it was the girl in the mask that interested me, Princess. And even more since I know it's you ..."

Moved, she squeezed his hand more in his.

"And frankly," he resumed in a thoughtful voice," if we have to choose, it's still much nicer to go out together in broad daylight and in front of everyone than just under our masks."

Trying as best as possible to control her panic at the flow of intense emotions which crossed her at this idea, she inhaled deeply then nodded shyly after several long seconds.


	5. Chapter 5

"Sor ... Dating ... Oh la la ..." she breathed in a troubled voice, caught in the whirlwind of her emotions, suddenly realizing all that that involved.

  
"You do not want ?" he worried, mistaking the young girl's reaction.

  
"No ! Uh no ... Ah! But ! That's not it, that's not what I meant!" she retorted hastily, in a panic-stricken voice, raising both hands.

  
"So you ... would you agree ... to go out with me?" he checked, his voice filled with incredulous joy.

  
"Obviously ..." she replied in a very small voice, so softly that he wondered if he would have really heard her, if he hadn't been Chat Noir.

Very slowly, he turned to her and, very delicately, attentive to her reactions, took her in his arms and hugged her. They took advantage of a long moment full of tenderness, snuggling up against each other, discovering and savoring the contact with each other in a whole new way for them, their hearts pounding. Then he pulled back slightly, and rested his forehead against the girl's.

They guessed more than they saw each other, in the half-light, and began to regret not having more light. But very quickly their noses brushed against each other, as their breaths wandered over their respective lips, a whole new and deeply disturbing sensation. It was a timeless moment, where desire and shyness fought each other, between their very strong feelings and their inexperience.

Finally, attracted to each other like a magnet, they ended up crossing the space that separated their mouths together. They started by kissing a little awkwardly, exploring the sensations it gave them, troubled by each other and overwhelmed by emotion. Without their consciously deciding, their hands moved, daring to discover their shoulders, their backs and their hair with caresses.

The longer this kiss lasted the more passionate it became, speeding up their heartbeat and breathing. The heart pounding, the two young people finally moved away slightly from each other to catch their breath and again rested their foreheads against each other.

"Oh Adrien, my Kitten ..." Marinette whispered tenderly while stroking his cheek.

  
"Marinette, my Lady, my Princess, Buguinette ..." he replied with the same tenderness, while holding the face of the young girl in a cup in his hands.

Again, they kissed passionately, more and more passionately.

A long moment later, as they were snuggled together and he ran his hands through the girl's hair, he spoke again.

"In fact, I was my own rival, finally ..." he slipped in a thoughtful tone.

  
"Kitten ... she breathed tenderly but in a guilty tone. "Note," she resumed in a firmer voice, "if I had listened to Alya and confessed my feelings to you in college, you would surely have rejected me by telling me that you had feelings for another ..."

  
" We make a nice pair of idiots!" he concludes with a laugh. "You see, I was right Buguinette, we should have revealed our identities from the start," he assured in a provocative tone.

  
"Yes, you're right" ... she sighed.

  
"It is true ? Do you think I'm right?" he wondered, amazed that she would admit it so easily.

  
"You are not going to force me to repeat, my kitty?" she retorted playfully, resting her finger against the young man's nose.

  
"I'm e-meow-awake, my Lady! I never thought I would hear you say that sort of thing one day!" he cried in a triumphant voice.

  
"Oh you and your puns!" she remarked, laughing tenderly.

  
"You don't roll your eyes? Do you like my puns after all?" he asked in an incredulous voice.

  
"Well I admit that they are sometimes cat-tastrophic, but that's also what makes your cat-rme!" she said, still laughing.

"I knew you were ppprrrfect!" he assured fervently while hugging her.

  
"No more than you, my Chadrien ..."

Deeply moved, overwhelmed by the strength of their feelings and emotions, they huddled together for a long time, before starting to kiss again, first very tenderly, then more passionately.

"By the way," she went on later, moving away slightly from him, "I just thought that I would surely have had even more trouble being Ladybug if I had known immediately that Cat Noir was Adrien ..."

  
"Why ?" he wondered, confused.

  
"Do you realize how disturbed I have been by you, Adrien, since the moment you gave me your umbrella?" she breathed in a shy little voice.

He couldn't help but wince, uncomfortable having had such an effect on her, but also not realizing it.

"You see, if I had known it was you behind that mask, I surely wouldn't have been so comfortable with Cat Noir. And ... finally, not knowing who you were allowed me to really get to know you. Finally, this aspect of your personality."

  
"Yeah ..." he sighed. "I see what you mean, my Lady. But ... It might still have happened differently, right? For example, without revealing our identities to us from the start, but a little later, when we started to be accomplices, perhaps?"

  
"Well ... Yes, you are probably right ... It's true that it's silly, all that, basically ..." she admitted. "Anyway, I'm so happy it's you, you know!"

  
"It is true!" he exclaimed in a happy voice. "Me too, Marinette, I'm really happy it's you!"

Once again, they couldn't help but kiss.

"So we agree, eh?" he resumed a little later. "Between Ladybug and Chat Noir, it's still strictly platonic, at least for now, but Marinette and Adrien are dating, eh?"

  
"Does it suit you?" she checked in an abruptly hesitant voice.

  
"I dream of it, Princess!" he breathed with conviction. You do not mind ?"

  
"You know how long I dreamed about it?" she replied with a strangled laugh.

  
"Well, since you've finally finished turning around, and you both agree, you might think about feeding us, eh!" cried a squeaky voice.

  
"Plagg!" exclaimed a piping voice, full of reproach. "We had agreed to leave them alone!"

  
"At this rate, Tikki, we're still here tomorrow," the kwami muttered. "And I am hungry!"

Hearing their kwamis, Adrien and Marinette were first frozen, then unconsciously moved away from each other, holding only hands.

"Don't mind him," Tikki told them warmly. "I've always had a hard time preventing him from intervening when Ladybugs and Chat Noirs confess their feelings to each other."

  
"You'll notice that I listened to you anyway, and that I never told Adrien that she was right under his nose," Plagg hissed.

  
"You know very well that it was not for us to tell them!" rebelled the little red kwami.

  
"Still, these two were particularly obtuse," he asserted in a condescending tone.  
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that they have found each other."

  
"Yes well what matters here is above all that they feed us. Finally you, you do what you want, but me, I want Camembert!"

Marinette, who had listened to this exchange with amazement, suddenly began to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Without letting go of his hand, Adrien sighed and took a piece of cheese out of his pocket.

"Here, Plagg, and thank you for your intervention," he said ironically, handing it to him. Marinette, do you have enough to feed yours, I guess?"

  
"I always have cookies on me, yes."

As she spoke, she took one out of her bag and handed it to Tikki, who thanked her affectionately as she took it. Adrien sighed again as he heard her do it, internally comparing her to his own kwami.

"By the way, it made me hungry too," he said to move on to another subject. "Still up for popcorn in front of the movie?"

  
"Yes ! But I don't even know when the next session will be, with all that ..."

  
"No problem. I don't care to wait, as long as I'm with you."

At his words, Adrien stood up loosely and held out his hand to Marinette for help. This time, she took it without the slightest hesitation and didn't let go. As soon as the girl was up, he hugged her tenderly and kissed her hair, before pulling back with a small sigh to push the cash register away from the door.

"It's going to be hard not to do this stuff under the mask too," he remarked with a hint of regret in his voice.

  
"It's going to be hard for me too, Kitten," she said with a sigh.

  
"Then it's better if Cat Noir stop flirting with Ladybug," he concluded.

  
"Not at all !" she countered immediately. "The most prudent, in my opinion, is that we do not change anything. For the moment."

  
"For the moment ? And after ?" he asked in a voice tinged with hope.

  
"Well ... in a few weeks, a month or two maybe ..." When Marinette and Adrien's relationship won't be a new thing for a long time ... Ladybug will start by letting herself be visibly seduced by Cat Noir, then respond to his feelings. Are you okay?"

  
"Seems meow-awake!" he assured with conviction just before kissing his girlfriend again.

  
"Well, the catch," Marinette proclaimed," is that we're going to be dealing with an overexcited Alya at this point. She's been convinced we're dating for a while!"

  
"It's normal, it's obvious that we are feline for each other!" He retorted with a wink and a very Cat Noir smile.

  
"It's so eye-popping that we weren't even able to recognize each other, I remind you, otherwise it really would have been the case for a long time," she countered, putting her index finger on the young man's nose. Finally suddenly, Alya will surely speak up, down and across, the Ladynoir couple, as she says, on the Ladyblog."

  
"Yes surely !" he admitted, laughing.

  
"And try to interview us."

  
"Well, we can give her that," indicated Adrien in a carefree tone.

  
"We'll have to be careful, Kitten. No one but us should know who we are…" she reminded in a strained voice.

  
"Do not worry, my Lady," he reassured her while sliding his hand tenderly on her cheek, "I know too well how uncompromising you are on this, and I do not intend to reveal to anyone that it would be. I know it is for our safety and that of our loved ones."

  
"Besides, I think about it," she added, putting a hand in front of her mouth, "we will have to be even more careful when only one of us is transformed. Can you imagine if someone sees Adrien and Ladybug kissing, or Marinette and Cat Noir? There might be some serious consequences ..."

  
" I hadn't thought of it," he sighed, running a hand on the back of his neck, but you're right. Somehow everything would be so much easier without this second life ... but I don't regret it, and I wouldn't want to share it with anyone but you."

After kissing once more, the two young people cautiously left the utility room to return discreetly to the cinema hall, hand in hand. They checked the schedule for the next screening of the movie they wanted to see. This would start about three quarters of an hour later. Which therefore meant that there was not yet a queue in the corresponding queue.

Once their tickets were taken, Marinette and Adrien went to the nearest counter to order the largest pot of popcorn available. Then they headed for the cinemas, following the signs to find theirs. They passed a cinema employee who asked them for their tickets. After checking, he told them that the previous session was not over yet.

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other, undecided. What were they going to do in the meantime? Perhaps they should have stayed longer in the service room ... The girl was the first to recover. She had noticed, out of the corner of her eye, that there were a few padded benches along the walls of this area of the cinema. She nodded one chin at her boyfriend and they decided to move in.

While waiting for their session time to arrive, they began to dig into the pot of popcorn, while chatting. Gradually, other people moved around, waiting too. Finally, an employee of the cinema came to tell them that the room was empty and that they could go. Marinette and Adrien were among the first to enter and settled in the top row, well in the middle, away from the other spectators.

The film was totally to the taste of the two young people. He should therefore have excited them. In usual time, he would have fascinated them. But strangely, that day they were both particularly distracted. Distracted by the presence of each other. Indeed, they spent most of the session brushing, kissing, between two bites of popcorn.

Unfortunately, Adrien received a text message towards the end of the film. It was Nathalie Sancœur who wanted to know why he still had not contacted his driver to return home, and what exactly he was doing. Reading the message, the young man couldn't help but sigh. Weren't they ever going to leave him alone?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ty so much all of you!  
> :D  
> Enjoy!

Marinette asked Adrien solicitously what was wrong, while gently stroking his cheek. Tense, he grabbed and squeezed the other hand of the young girl as if to regain his footing, while turning his screen towards her. Upon finding the message, she grimaced sharply, feeling guilty.

"Oh Kitten, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "Maybe we shouldn't have ..."

"Don't say that, Princess!" he cut her off gently but firmly. "We really needed to talk, and I don't regret doing so," he assured her as he kissed her hand. The young girl's solicitude had reassured him a little. And how could he in the least regret that she is, that she is finally! his girlfriend ? Their hands still tied, Marinette pulled Adrien's to her lips to kiss them in turn. Too moved to say anything, he squeezed her hand tenderly in hers.

"Well," he went on a few moments later with a sigh, "I have to answer her, otherwise she will be able to call me. And if I turn off my phone, I might have problems." "I hope she won't force you to leave the cinema in the middle of the session!" she worried, squeezing her boyfriend's hand a little tighter in hers.

"She has no interest!" he growled. "Already that I had difficulty in obtaining my freedom to spend this afternoon with you ..." he sighed in a low voice in a jaded tone.

"Oh Adrien, I'm sorry!"

"Marinette, please, I don't want you to be sorry," he breathed in a soft voice. "It's absolutely not your fault, okay?" The young girl was staring at him with pursed lips, with so much concern and tenderness in her eyes that it touched him deep within himself. He felt it was for him, and for him alone that she cared, that she really cared about him, that he meant to her at least as much as she meant to him. It warmed his heart, like an unexpected gift but more wonderful than anything one had imagined.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck to try to come to his senses. Reluctantly taking his gaze away from Marinette's, he planted a tender kiss on his girlfriend's nose and looked back at his phone. "Well, I'll tell him I'm still at the movies," he sighed. "I wanted to take you for a walk afterwards, to have something to drink, but I don't know if it will be possible, suddenly ...

" Don't worry, Kitten, it doesn't matter. It's only a postponement ..." she assured in a soft voice, hiding her best pain at seeing him once again deprived of his liberty.

"Yes, but hey ..." he sighed again. The young man sent his message, remaining visibly concerned as he awaited the answer. His girlfriend grabbed both of his hands in hers and massaged them tenderly in an attempt to relax him. When the phone vibrated again, he took his right hand again to read what Nathalie wrote to him, leaving the left to Marinette.

"It's no ..." he sighed in a tone both unhappy and frustrated.

"Well, too bad, Adrien," whispered the young girl in a voice that wanted to be reassuring. "Better to respect the rules, it would be too stupid for you to have to suffer consequences if you don't do it ... You know ... I want to continue to see you every day, or almost, at college ..." she confessed in a slightly nervous voice.

"Did I already tell you how perfect you are?" He marveled, stroking her cheek, before leaning over to kiss her. "Well ... If I can have a moment of freedom tomorrow to spend time with you, would you be available?"

"Of course !" she replied enthusiastically. He kissed her hand tenderly, happy with her answer.

"Maybe we should come back here to see this movie ..." he said thoughtfully. "I don't know about you, but I think I didn't really understand the plot. And then hey, if Alya, Nino and the others ask us about it on Monday, we'll look smart if we tell them we haven't even really looked at it ..." Marinette giggled before kissing Adrien on the tip of the nose.

As they left the cinema a little later, the two young people were disappointed to realize that the Agreste driver was already there. It is with regret that they parted ways, promising to meet again very soon and, in the meantime, to communicate through their cell phones.

On returning home, Marinette had therefore turned on her phone again, and discovered in the process that Alya had sent her ten text messages. She scanned them quickly. All indicated her best friend's impatience to know more, and her curiosity about the progress of her relationship with Adrien. It amused him to notice that, for once, Alya didn't touch a word of Ladybug and Cat Noir's new fight.

With a half-amused, half-exasperated sigh, Marinette decided to call her best friend to tell her about her afternoon ... by skipping, of course, the compromising elements. But she began, of course, by announcing that yes, Adrien and she were now officially dating, finally, thus collecting the congratulations of Alya who was visibly leaping with joy, on the other side of the phone, for her two friends.

They had then exchanged a number of messages, but it had been a while since Adrien had stopped responding. Marinette had finished her homework and was busy sewing. Suddenly, she heard a noise that surprised her. She let go of the item of clothing she was pinning and looked up, pricking her finger in the process.

The noise started again. It came from her bedroom window, the one that opened onto her terrace. Cat Noir hadn't come? It was pitch black, and it was very late! The girl climbed to her window.

Before opening it, she looked through it. Indeed, the super hero was there and smiled at her. She hastened to open the door and let him in. "Well then, Kitten, what are you doing here?" she checked, intrigued.

"I missed you too much, Princess!" he assured, grabbing her hands and pulling her against him. Marinette let it go with pleasure and looked up at him. They kissed tenderly. She ran her fingers through the boy's hair.

"Hey, you have wet hair!" she exclaimed. "It is raining ? You shouldn't have come, you idiot cat!" With these words, she moved away from him and hastened to get a hand towel from her bathroom, which she handed him with authority, while muttering that their magical combinations only protected their bodies from the rain, not his head, and he was in danger of getting sick.

Chat Noir looked at her miserably, his ears downcast. He finally grabbed the towel with a heavy sigh.

"Something is wrong ?" asked the young girl worriedly.

"Why ... why do you call me "idiot cat" in these kinds of situations?" he asked in a sad voice.

"Oh Kitten!" she exclaimed in a tone full of concern. "No but ... it's not bad!"

  
"Yes I think. But you don't always think highly of me ..." he sighed.

  
"But no ! It's not that !" she cried. "Absolutely not that. At most, sometimes, it's annoyance. For example when I have the impression that you don't want to be serious when you should."

  
"That, my Lady, is my way of taking courage in the face of our enemies, and of helping us to put things into perspective, both of us, you know," he confessed with a little grimace.

  
"Oh ... I had not seen things like that ..." she indicated thoughtfully.

  
"But that's not why you find me stupid," he resumed in a dejected tone.

  
"I don't think you're really stupid, actually," she sighed. It's just ... that sometimes ..."

  
"Yes?" he asked her, frowning.

  
"That sometimes I worry about you," she whispered. "See, Kitten, I can't stand your putting yourself in danger. Especially when it's because of me ..."

  
"Huh?" he exclaimed, puzzled.

  
"I do not like that you put yourself in danger because of me ..." she confessed in a low voice. "There, I'm afraid you're sick. Can you imagine if we can't see each other for several days? And when we fight, I'm always afraid you'll get hurt, especially when you're trying to protect me at the expense of your own safety."

  
"Really ? I especially had the impression that it was because you didn't want to risk appearing to be weaker than you really are, whereas I always knew that you were strong, my Lady ..."

  
"Oh Kitten!" she said in a tender voice, shaking her head from side to side. "I was so afraid to encourage you in your feelings for me that I never really told you, I guess, how much I always appreciated you, as a partner, and how much you mean to me. .."

"Finally, we make a nice pair of idiots, the idiot cat and the idiot ladybug?" he quipped.

She burst out laughing.

“It… it might be silly,” she said with a hint of guilt, “but it was affectionate for me to call you like that. A way of saying: my idiot cat, who always plays the puppet, but to whom I am deeply attached ... while refusing to be too much ... A way of protecting myself, maybe also ... You are so exuberant, under your mask, sometimes!"

  
"Oh ..." he breathed, his eyes widening.

  
\- But hey, of course, if you don't like it, I'll stop right away, I don't want to hurt you, you know ..." she continued in a guilty voice.

  
"No ! If, for you, it's affectionate, then you can continue, I don't mind," he assured her with a smile. "After all, I call you Buguinette, while you don't."

She rolled her eyes before laughing.

"Yes ! Finally it's okay, there is worse than this nickname! Okay, your hair won't dry out on its own, and I really don't want you to get sick."

With that, she took the towel off his hands and began to rub his head. But she stopped very quickly in front of the grimace of her boyfriend.

\- Oh sorry ! she exclaimed. Are your cat ears sensitive?  
\- Yeah, he sighed. But hey, I don't even know why I didn't de-transform right away.

With these words, Cat Noir called Plagg back and Adrien took the towel from Marinette's hands to rub his hair vigorously. She offered to use her hairdryer afterwards, but he declined the offer. Asking her if, instead, she wouldn't have something to nibble on instead. The girl hastily nodded and went downstairs to find what she needed.

When she got back up, Marinette had a pause, not knowing how to react. Adrien was standing next to her desk, leaning over the photo of him that she had placed in a frame. He turned around almost immediately, a broad smile lighting his face.

"I didn't know you had pictures of me!" he exclaimed happily. "Have you installed them since the other day?"

  
"Oh ! Um ... Uh ... No ... Not really ..." she stammered as she awkwardly put the plate she was carrying on a corner of her desk.

  
"What do you mean?" he wondered.

As the young girl grew more and more red and stammering, the young man's smile grew more and more mischievous, typically Black Cat.

"Am I to understand that all these photos have been there for a very long time?" he checked greedily.

Moaning, she buried her head in her hands. Seized with a slight remorse, he approached her in two long strides and hugged her tenderly in his arms.

"Hey, Marinette, everything is fine ..." he whispered to reassure her. "You can't know how much it makes me happy!"

  
"Is ... is it true? she whispered incredulously.

  
"Yes, that's right," he confirmed firmly while kissing her hair. I still have a hard time realizing that you really care about me, he confessed.

  
"Of course I care about you ... I love you ..." she slipped in a very small voice.

Overwhelmed with emotions, his throat tight, he couldn't find her words at first, but hugged her even tighter while kissing her hair even more beautifully.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I am so happy you guys liked this!  
> I hope you enjoy!  
> ~ Mary

Finally, Adrien managed to control himself enough to regain his feet, even though his heart was still pounding. Leaning lightly towards his girlfriend, who was still snuggled against him, he gently grabbed her face, hidden in the young girl's hands, in order to lift it gently.

He wanted her to look him in the eye, even though the intensity of her gaze almost made him waver. As soon as he was sure he had her undivided attention, he gently stroked her cheek to reassure her, because he could sense how stressed she was. He then spoke again, in a voice much more troubled than he would have liked.

" Oh Marinette, my pretty Lady, me too, I love you!" he assured her fervently. At these words, she felt her heart leap in her chest. Her gaze brimming with deep joy, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her to kiss him with infinite tenderness.

Suddenly, a rude noise made them jump and interrupt their kiss. Looking around in surprise, they saw their two kwamis next to the plate Marinette had brought. Tikki had put his two paws on Plagg's mouth and both had a guilty look on their faces. Before the two humans had time to say anything, the little black kwami preferred to get ahead of them.

" She's very good, that Ladybug, keep her preciously, kid!" he exclaimed as if nothing had happened. "Plagg!" Tikki growled. "I have absolutely no intention of letting go," Adrien assured, hugging Marinette tenderly against him, while she rested her head on his shoulder.

" Well then take a little example on her," resumed his kwami in a sour tone. "Look, I didn't have to cry famine for her to think of bringing me Camembert."

" I'm going to pity you, here!" Adrien quipped while Marinette and Tikki laughed.

"Why can't you be as quiet here as you are in college, eh?" The girl freed herself from her boyfriend's arms after giving him a tender smile and walked over to the plate where she grabbed two macaroons, before handing one to the young man.

" We are lucky that he prefers cheese, this glutton," she remarked, laughing. "Looks to me like you like macaroons, right? I think I'm repeating myself, but you're perfect, Marinette!" he exclaimed with a broad smile, taking the pastry.

"Stop it, Kitten! she breathed, blushing and resting her index finger on his nose. - I maintain ! he assured with a very Cat Noir smile, while grabbing her hand to kiss it, before biting deeply into the button.

"Mmmh! This is delicious ! How lucky you are to have parents like yours!"

"I didn't choose," she reminded modestly, shrugging her shoulders. -"I would exchange well," he breathed in a bitter tone.

"My dad forces me on a healthy diet because of the photoshoots, and I'm not allowed to go where I want, when I want. You saw well this afternoon, at the cinema." She nodded silently.

" Do you understand why I appreciate my freedom so much when I'm Cat Noir?" he asked nervously while running a hand on the back of his neck.

" Oh ! Yes indeed ! It hadn't even occurred to me!" she exclaimed in a low voice, in dismay, while bringing her hand to her mouth. "My poor Kitten, and I who judged you so badly, and treated you so badly ..."

" My Lady ..." he breathed. "Do not say that ! I've never seen you as a heartless monster!"

"I should have sought to overcome my prejudices," she lamented. "Behind your mask, I took you for a swagger, for a spoiled rotten kid ... I did not imagine, I did not seek to know ..."

" Hey, Marinette, stop, please," he begged her. "I am especially not looking for pity. After all, I don't really have a complaint, you know. Especially since I received my miraculous, by the way."

" Yes, but ...

" But Cat Noir never felt contempt on Ladybug's part," he remarked, grabbing her hand again to kiss it. "And that, believe me, is the most important.

" How could I have despised my partner, and especially a partner like you? People don't seem to realize it, but Ladybug wouldn't be who she is without Chat Noir! -"

"Do not say that," he rebelled, "it is you who are important, it is you who purifies the akumas. I don't do much."

"And who reassured and encouraged me from the start?" she countered. "Who has always been loyal to me? Who fights as much as I do to stop and free the akumatized? Kitten, frankly, don't denigrate yourself. We are a team."

"I ... I never imagined you meant all that about me," he confessed. "You always seemed so strong to me, even when you doubted, at first ..."

" Well ... it was surely silly," she confessed, "but it's true that I always avoided you. compliment so as not to encourage you too much ... Between your swagger and your flirty side ... it was easier for me to seem sure of myself than to let you be too much, you know what I mean ?"

" I believe. Frankly, I never imagined such strength of character behind the shy Marinette!" he remarked, laughing. 

"Because you think I imagined that the sweet and gentle Adrien could be so boastful?" she retorted with a mischievous air. He looked at her falsely sheepishly while grabbing another button. " When I think that I spent months pushing away, even rejecting, the boy whose attention I was desperately looking for elsewhere, while regularly entrusting him with my life and trusting him like no one else ..." she said, rolling her eyes, a bitter grimace on her face.

"Ma Ladynette ..." he whispered tenderly. "You had my full attention, believe me, with and without your mask. Except that I was hiding my face by insisting on seeing Marinette only as an excellent friend ... When I realized who you were, Thursday evening, on the Eiffel Tower, it was a real upheaval, for I. Because I understood that not only did I love Ladybug regardless of her mask ... but also that I already really loved the girl in the mask. I understood that I had let myself be blinded by my feelings for your Ladybug side to the point of not even realizing how your Marinette side had already taken my heart, too ..."

She looked at him with emotion, gasping for air. "I ... I didn't realize, Adrien ... I heard you say several times that I was your friend and, even though I was happy that you liked me, I longed for so much more ..."

"We were both blind ... You realize, we spent so much time looking for each other, but not in the right way ..." he admitted in a tone of regret. "Anyway, I'm so happy that we ended up finding each other, you and me! I think we played cat and mouse a little too long ..."

"But in the end, it was the ladybug that caught the cat, right?" she teased him, sticking out her tongue.

"Oh, oh, you give your tongue to the cat, my pretty ladybug? And the cat, what does his heart give you in return?" he asked in the same tone as he approached her with sparkling eyes, before leaning in to kiss her.

" Mmmh ..." she breathed just after their kiss looking at him lovingly. "You know ..." she remarked thoughtfully. "I think you should let appear more Chat Noir at Adrien ... and more Adrien at Chat Noir ..."

"Huh? I can't bring out my Cat Noir side when I'm Adrien! What would my father say?" he retorted, quite distraught. "Oh ? Is he in college with us?" she quipped, raising an eyebrow to look at him mischievously. "No and you know it," he countered, giving her a childish face.

"But I can't ..."

" Kitten, what happens in college stays in college," she argued to reassure him.

"Hey, your sometimes dubious puns ... have you never been tempted to do it there?"

"Yes, but ... "

"Don't tell me that you can only do it on the theme of cats," she interrupted emphatically, "I won't believe you: I heard you do it on everything and whatever!"

He stared at her speechless for a moment, before grabbing her hands enthusiastically. "Ladybug I liked, Marinette I liked, but then the mixture of the two, which no longer repels me, and which is no longer intimidated by me, is infinitely more attractive, Princess, and absolutely wonderful!" he assured fervently before kissing her again, the girl eagerly responding to his kiss while whispering words of love back to him.

" By the way, I imagine that it will be better if I do not call you my Lady or Buguinette in front of the friends ..." he remarked a little later in a thoughtful tone.

"Ah yes, it would not be prudent ..." she admitted with a sorry sigh. "Uh ... say, Adrien ... do you think I can call you Kitten in front of them?"

" Well ... I don't know ... Tell me, have you ever used that nickname in public?"

"Mmmh ... I don't think so ... Ladybug rather tended to keep a ... um ... professional distance with Cat Noir in public, to avoid people drawing hasty conclusions ... And. .. and I obviously haven't told anyone about Chat Noir's few visits to my house ..."

"So if Marinette calls Adrien like that, Ladybug will have to avoid using that nickname for Chat Noir in public, right?" he checked, frowning at the idea.

" Pfiou!" she hissed. "It's all painful! But yes, you're right, that's exactly it, Kitten. Although ... It is still much less connoted than 'my Lady'!" she remarked with a mischievous smile.

"Absolutely ! And I love when you call me Kitten, my darling Lady," he assured, smiling and stroking her cheek. She looked at him, smiling tenderly. "Well, if not, something must be done for these photos!" he resumed firmly, pointing to his portraits.

"Oh !" Marinette moaned, hiding her head in her hands again. "Why didn't I think of hiding them?"

"Oh no then, don't say that, Princess!" he countered, gently grabbing her hands to clear her face. "I told you that made me really happy. No, the wrong thing is you're not on it."

"Huh?"

"Don't you want to have a picture of the two of us together?" he explained.

"Ah! Uh ... Oh! Yes, yes, of course!"

"To put in this frame, for example?"

"Oh ! Yes ! Good idea !" she confirmed in a troubled voice while blushing.

" Great !" he exclaimed with a broad smile as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Adrien took Marinette in his arms and began to take some pictures of the two of them, before looking at them with her on the screen. Then he sent them to her. The young girl retrieved them on her phone and on her computer, from which she chose one with him to print it and slip it into the famous frame.

"By the way, while we're at it, we could also make Ladybug and Cat Noir!" he suggested with a greedy air.

"And walk around with that on our phones? You are crazy ?" she rebelled.

"Huh? - If Alya falls on it, can you imagine the possible fallout?"

"Oh ! Oh !" he exclaimed, putting his hand over her mouth, flabbergasted. "You ... do you think ...?"

"Whether she will understand, or she will torture us to try to find out how we got these photos ... And believe me, you don't want to confront a Ladybug-obsessed Alya, she clarified with a dark air."

" I take your word for it, Marinette. You're right, we're not going to take the risk." He concluded with a sigh, while twisting one of the girl's locks between his fingers.

"But hey, believe me, you won't cut it, I'm going to post one of the photos of us in my room!" he said firmly with a broad smile. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"You'll have to come and see, of course. Well ... I probably won't be able to get you to my room as often as I would like", he clarified, rubbing the back of his neck, "but at worst, you can still do like me tonight and go through the window .

"About that, Kitten, we shouldn't notice your absence at home," she remarked with sudden concern. "At this time ? Pfff ..." he sighed in a disillusioned tone.

"I slipped a pillow into my bed to make it look like I was sleeping. No one is going to check, don't worry about that." She stroked his cheek with tender solicitude, before placing a kiss on his lips.

"It's not that I'm chasing you ..." she breathed, resting her forehead against his and putting her arms around his waist. "Honestly, Adrien, I really don't want you to go back ... But that might be more reasonable, right?"

"Yeah," he grumbled as he slid his hands against his girlfriend's cheeks. "Don't want to, don't want to leave you at all ... but hey, I don't think your parents would appreciate seeing me here tonight, and I can't see myself making them believe that I climbed their building to your room with bare hands ...

"Indeed," she confirmed with an amused smile at the idea. "And clearly, better if they ignore our secret identities ... I wouldn't mind if they barricaded my windows! Adrien grimaced sharply."

"I hope that will not happen! Well, I'm off, Buguinette," he sighed, "and I'll let you know if I manage to negotiate a moment of freedom to spend with you tomorrow. If not ... Chances are you'll get a visit from a certain alley cat," he finished with a wink and a mischievous smile.

They kissed once more, long and almost desperately, then he asked Plagg to transform him. The rain having stopped, Marinette accompanied him to her terrace. She refused to kiss him again, however, out of caution, allowing him only a hand kiss. She watched him go, jumping from roof to roof, heart aching. She couldn't wait to see him again! She was still struggling to realize that no, she was absolutely not dreaming, and that Adrien Chat Noir Agreste was indeed her boyfriend.


End file.
